Walk the Primrose Path
by Formidame
Summary: Jessica Gilbert was never good at dealing with all this "feelings" crap. She was not Elena, after all. But when the Mayor's funeral forces her to return to Mystic Falls, she is forced to start dealing with things she never thought she would. Including vampires, werewolfs and hybrids. Eventually Klaus/OC. Rating may go up.
1. The Return

**The Return**

I was starting to get to know the airport in a way I didn't want. But it was only natural for one to start exploring after two and a half hours of sitting in the corner like a lost puppy.

I was there only once before, when I was flying to New-York a few weeks after _it_ happened, and at the time the only thing I was capable of was walking to the plane and as far away from this place as possible. Now, I was somewhat alright, and my natural curiosity had kicked in.

But so had my anger.

"I'm going to kill her…" I muttered under my breath, looking at my phone for the millionth time, watching the all too familiar _Calling Elena_ on the flat screen. A few second later it went once again into voice mail, and I hung up, not even waiting for the lady's voice to finish the instructions of leaving a message.

The funeral must have already started. And I was stuck here. Waiting for my sister. Who was not going to show up.

It was unlike her, ditching someone. Elena was always the perfect girl, kind and caring, rushing to help anyone she could. But then again, what had happened might've changed her, like it changed me. So I really didn't know what to think.

Twenty minutes later, I thought I was imagining things when the words showed up on the screen. I was so surprised I even forgot to sound angry. "Hello?"

"Ohmygod Jess! I'm so sorry! I'm getting in the car right now-"

"No need to do that." I remembered to be angry this time. "You see, after waiting for three hours and talking to Jenna who couldn't come because you took the car, I ordered a cab that is going to cost me god knows how much." The driver looked at me in the rearview mirror and smiled apologetically.

"I'll pay for the cab!" Elena sounded so very regretting, and the anger started melting away.

"What happened that you couldn't even call?" I huffed into the phone, running a hand through my hair.

"John got stabbed."

"John? Uncle John?" Now that was a surprise. It seemed as if the last few days in Mystic Falls were packed with disasters. "How?"

"We don't know. John didn't see his face." There was a slight pause. "I'm heading home now, and then I'm driving Jenna and Jeremy to the funeral. When are you going to get there?"

"Uh, half an hour I think. Maybe forty minutes."

"Good, good. I'll meet you there. And I'm really, really sorry Jess!"

I rolled my eyes at my sister's desperation, but smiled nonetheless. "All will be forgiven after you make it up to me."

"I'll think of something."

"Bye, love you sis."

Half an hour turned into forty five minutes, but when I arrived at the Lockwood Manor there were still a lot of people, which made sense, considering it was the Mayor who had died. Practically all of Mystic Falls had gathered.

It was kind of awkward to walk among all these grieving people with a suitcase. I encountered some judging stares, and even Tyler raised a brow as he surveyed me.

"I came here straight from the airport, don't judge." I explained, putting the suitcase aside and reaching for a tight hug that the boy accepted gratefully. "I missed you Ty. Sorry for your loss."

"Thanks Jess." He smiled somewhat sadly. "Good to see you here. It's been months. You missed the sexy car wash."

I faked a devastated face. "Uh, dang! How could I miss that? All those sexy shirtless jocks… thought you would have been there to ruin the view, so it wasn't too much of a miss, I guess."

"Not cool, Gilbert." He made an offended face. "It's not like you are that much of a delight to look at."

I mirrored his face. "Not cool, Lockwood." He smirked at me and I considered making him a little bit less sad a mission accomplished. "Can I put the suitcase somewhere?"

"Sure. Come on, we can steal my dad's booze supply."

Frankly, I had mixed feelings about drinking a dead person's alcohol, but Tyler seemed pretty fixed on the idea. "Just like old days. Good to be back."

Tyler was kind enough to carry my suitcase for me, and now that I wasn't worried about tripping on it, I spent the walk to Mayor Lockwood's office texting Elena and announcing that I had arrived.

I received a text from my twin pretty quickly.

 _Gettin into the car with Jenna and Jer. B there in 5._

Satisfied with the answer, I turned my attention back to Tyler, who had already put my luggage aside in the corner of the room, and was now taking the flask of liquor from its regular hiding spot in the desk.

"I can't even count how many times we have done this." I commented, taking off my coat and sitting down on the coach. Tyler joined me a second later, handing the flask over to me.

It was whiskey, I learned after the first sip. There were many shitty things about the Mayor, but damn, did he have a nice taste in booze. I took another sip and sighed in relaxation. "How are you? Elena told me that you, Caroline and Matt were in an accident." I really freaked out when I heard it. I used to be extremely close to both Tyler and Caroline before leaving.

"I'm fine." Tyler took much bigger sips than me. Then again, he also needed it more than me. "Matt broke his arm, Caroline was put in the hospital but I heard she's better."

"I'm glad." I replied, before lying on his knees like I used to do. The familiarity was more comforting than I had thought.

"How's New-York?"

"Fine, I guess. I thought it would be much more challenging, but it's not that much different from the school here."

Tyler just chuckled, ruffling my hair. "That's because you're a total nerd. Have you ever gotten anything lower than an A?"

"As a matter of fact, Tanner used to give me B- all the time."

"Oh, what a shame. How could you show your face in public after that."

"Shut up Tyler." I flicked his arm in annoyance. "Some of us actually want to achieve something in life."

"Who? Do I know them?" The boy smirked widely for the first time since I saw him, and I couldn't help but smile in return. I, of all people, knew what he was going through. Even though I myself preferred to deal with it on my own, I knew that Tyler needed someone to cheer him up and give him a sense of normality.

"Yes, your mother. She told me all about it when she was in my bed last night."

"Dude, that doesn't even make sense…"

"Oh sorry I was just looking for the…" There was a familiar voice – all too familiar and wonderful and amazing – and when I turned to face towards it, the beautiful face of my little brother greeted me. "… Jessica?"

"JEREMY!" I practically jumped from Tyler's lap and leaped towards the younger boy, wrapping my arms around him in a death grip. "When did you get so tall!?"

"During that phase called 'puberty'." My brother returned the hug, though somewhat reluctantly. But I still welcomed the warmth with everything I had. After not seeing him in person for months, it was really nice to be able to be this close to him. "How long are you staying?"

"For a week. I'm leaving straight after the Masquerade ball."

"Oh, nice. So you'll get to go the all of Mystic Falls' finest founders' activities. I know how much you love the- Have you two been drinking?" It seemed that only now he had noticed Tyler, and the air filled with some sort of heaviness I couldn't understand. Was it their old dislike for each other, or was it something newer I didn't know about?

"Hey look, I'm… I'm sorry about your dad." Jeremy was visibly searching for the right words.

Tyler just pursed his lips. "Today has been a big day of 'sorry's from people who really don't give a shit."

I knew that all too well from when it happened to me. It was exactly what I felt when all of those people who didn't even know me were telling me how sorry they were.

"I know what you mean, man." Jeremy said, and it was a surprise for me. I didn't know that. But then again I never really talked to him (or anyone, for that matter) about it, so of course I wouldn't know that. I suddenly felt like a really bad sister.

"The difference is in your case it's true. My father was a dick."

"Yeah, he was."

"Hey!" I elbowed him. "At least be subtle about it!"

Both of the guys chuckled, and it seemed to defuse the atmosphere a bit. "Here," Tyler handed my little brother the flask, and I watched him in bewilderment. "I found it in his desk."

"Lockwood, did you just give my little brother booze in front of me?"

"No offence Jess, but you're the last person who can tell me what to do." And there was the bitterness I was expecting. The hidden anger at me for running away when everything was falling apart. The hurt of a little brother desperate for his older sister.

I didn't know what to say in return. I just gaped at him, searching for words that weren't forming at my lips. It was Tyler that fortunately came to my rescue. "Hey, I bet you wanna go see Elena and you aunt. I'll stay here with mini Gilbert, you can go."

"Thanks. I'll talk to you later, okay? It would be nice to catch up!" With that I exited the office and closed the door behind me. I stood there for a few seconds, just taking in breaths, before adjusting my clothes and hair and going downstairs into the noisy first floor of the manor.

I immediately noticed my twin sister and aunt, talking to each other in the kitchen while Jenna tried to fit whichever type of food they had brought into the already filled fridge. I always looked more like Jenna's sister than Elena's, my strawberry blonde hair only slightly darker than my aunt's and my high cheekbones and nose practically copied from her face. I once saw photos of my grandmother and learned that I inherited her looks, while Jeremy and Elena looked much more like our father's line. Yes, Elena and I were not identical – far from it, actually.

Beside the hair color difference, my skin was pale while Elena's was olive. Elena was also taller than me (much to my disdain), and even though we shared similar eye shape, our colors were different as well. It was always hard to explain that we were actually twins, just not identical ones. It used to bother me as a kid, but as I grew I realized that having someone who looks just like me would be creepy as fuck.

Deciding to go with classics, I leaned against the entrance and crossed my arms on my chest. "How you doin'?"

My twin was the first to turn around, her eyes widened in recognition. It took her another second before she crossed the space between us and stood right in front of me. "Jessica." She breathed.

"Good to see you, twin." I smiled and hugged her tightly. She was even more welcoming than Jeremy, and I felt that if we would keep this up I would end up crying in the corner. I pulled away and faced Jenna. "My favorite aunt. You look mature. It's a good look on you."

"I hope you're not saying I'm old." Jenna grinned and hugged me as well.

"Jess, I'm really sorry. Just with John and everything that happened…" Did Elena become miss guilt while I was gone?

"I think that a round of shots on you in the Grill will make it up. John got stabbed; Caroline, Matt and Tyler got into an accident… I get it." I looked at the tray on the counter. "What did you make?"

"Gilbert Chili."

"Oh you shouldn't have…" I grinned wickedly and reached to the tray.

"No!" Jenna scolded me, making me pout. "This is for the Lockwood's."

"Party pooper."

"I'm mature." Jenna announced victoriously. "And if you'll excuse me, I'll go pay my condolences like a mature person."

"I take it back," I called after her, "It's not a good look on you!" Jenna ignored me, and I turned back to Elena, huffing. "I don't like her as the fun police."

"She's actually been doing pretty well at taking care of us after mom and dad died."

Wow. Since when was Elena okay with talking about _that_? I sure as hell wasn't yet.

"R-Really?" I tried to mask my discomfort with interest. "That's great. How have you been? The last days must've been pretty hard with Caroline, Matt, Tyler and Uncle John."

"Yeah it's been rough…" She admitted. "And there was something I had found out but didn't want to tell you over the phone. We're not twins."

Cue total shock. "…What?"

"A few days ago this woman showed up and told me she and John had a relationship when they were teens and she got pregnant. John brought her to dad and he adopted me. John confirmed it."

"Holy fucking shit, sister. Or cousin. Are we cousins now?" I ran a hand through my hair and sat down on one of the chairs. Elena followed me and did the same. "Well at least now we know why we look… not like twins."

"This doesn't change anything, Jess." Elena said a solemn tone, looking straight into my hazel eyes with her brown ones. "You are still my sister; you are still a part of me."

I scoffed and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't be stupid, of course I'm still your sister. It's going to take you a lot more than that to get rid of me."

She nodded at me gratefully and was about to say something, but was cut off by a male voice. "Sorry to interrupt the girly drama, but Elena, may I have you for a second?"

It was a guy in his twenties that spoke. A rather easy on the eyes guy. And by "easy on the eyes" I mean fucking gorgeous. He had the black-hair-blue-eyes superman look, only if superman was flirty, mysterious and wore everything black.

"Is that Stefan?" I asked. "Am I finally meeting Stefan?"

"Better." The guy replied. "Elena?"

"That's Damon, Stefan's brother." Elena explained, rolling her eyes. "What?"

"It's about your dear boyfriend and my dear brother."

Something flashed across my sister's face, and it looked too much like deep concern. It made me squint my eyes in suspicion. Why would Elena be worried just from hearing that Damon wanted to talk about Stefan?

"Lena… Is everything okay?"

It took her a second to turn her face to me and shrug it off. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I'll be back soon, alright? And then we'll go home and watch 'Friends' with ice cream and catch up on everything."

"Sounds like a plan." I replied, but my suspicions remained. There was something off, yet I couldn't tell what. It was driving me nuts.

I couldn't take it off my mind, and I half-heartedly payed attention to Matt and Bonnie when I had finally saw them in one of the manor's rooms. It was nice seeing them, even if I didn't pay them my entire attention. I hang out with them and Tyler (who had joined us in the middle) until Elena came back with a fine-looking guy, who was no doubt Stefan.

Damn, where did she found this Greek god? He was gorgeous in a different way from his brother, more like a brooding prince from ancient times. Fuck, I had never dated such a handsome man. I was a bit jealous.

"Jessica, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Stefan." He shook my hand and I thought I was going to melt.

"My future brother-in-law." I grinned and Elena's jaw dropped. "Elena told me great things about you."

"She told me great things about you too."

"Did she tell you I'm the better twin, err cousin?"

"No, it must've slipped my mind." Elena retorted, rolling her eyes. "You want to head home?"

As she said it, I realized just how tired I actually was from the flight, the ride home and spending the entire day here. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. And I've caught up with everyone but Caroline, so I think my to-do list for today is complete."

We said goodbyes to everyone and headed home (Aunt Jenna said she will come home later and apparently Jeremy already left, too cool to wait for us). When we arrived home, I stepped out of the car and took a moment to stare at the house I hadn't seen for months. It was very familiar, yet very strange at the same time, and for a second I became afraid I wouldn't remember where my room was, or where the bathroom was located.

But as I slowly stepped into the living room, I immediately remembered to you had to head upstairs and turn right and there was my room, and across it was Elena's, and for Jeremy's you had to take a left, and for… for _their_ room you needed to go to the end of the hallway.

Fortunately, Elena didn't seem to notice all this. "I'm going to change and then we'll get ice cream and watch 'Friends', maybe even Jeremy will join. Unless you're too tired?"

"No, no, I want 'Friends'." I said. "Worst case scenario I'll fall asleep like when we were kids."

We both smiled at the memory, and Elena nodded. "Okay."

My room was just like I remembered it, not even a single thing out of place. Though I expected it to be dusty, but it was clean and fresh-smelling as if someone cleaned it recently. Or had been cleaning it regularly. I couldn't tell. My bed sheets were new and soft under my touch, and as I sat down and surveyed around what I used to call my bedroom for seventeen years, I realized how much I really missed everything. Elena, Jeremy, Aunt Jenna, Tyler and Bonnie and Matt, Mystic Falls. I missed home.

It was the first time in months that a thought had crossed my mind. What if it was wrong of me to leave? What if I would've been better here in Mystic Falls? What if –

Strange noises came from across the hall, and I curiously popped my head out of the door, searching the source. It appeared to have come from Elena's room, and Jeremy had heard it too.

"What was that?" I asked and he shrugged, not knowing.

Jeremy opened the door to Elena's bedroom. "Elena? What's going on in here?"

By this time I was already by his side, and saw that my sister wasn't alone in her room. The gorgeous guy I had seen in the manor – Stefan's brother, Damon – was standing next to her, his face showing how drunk and angry he was.

"Nothing, Jeremy, Jessica. It's okay. Just go back to bed."

"No, it's not okay Elena." Damon, who was previously looking at her, turned to us. "He wants to be a vampire."

"How drunk are you exactly, pal?" I raised my eyebrows, but before I finished my sentence, Damon already grabbed Jeremy by his throat and slammed him against the doorway. I stared in shock, not understanding how he was able to move so fast and to slam Jeremy's brother so easily. "Oh my god, what the hell is going on!?"

"NO! Damon, stop it!" Elena exclaimed desperately.

Damon didn't seem to hear any of us. "You want to shut out the pain?" He sneered. "It's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares just goes away, all you have to do is flip the switch and snap!"

The sound of breaking bone was the most disgusting thing I had ever heard. It was echoing loudly in my head, repeating over and over again as I watched in slow motion how my brother's neck was snapped in an unnatural angle, and as he fell to the floor motionless.

The roar that escaped my lips didn't register in my brain. I simply found myself a second later by Jeremy's body, helplessly trying to wake him up.

But he wouldn't.

Because Damon had murdered him.

I didn't know how much time passed after that. All I knew was that I was repeating the same thing.

"We have to call the police." I repeated for the tenth time. "Elena, why won't you let me call the police!?"

Elena's face was teary and stressed, but a few minutes after Damon left, she suddenly became a bit more calm and composed. She just sat next to Jeremy and hugged him tightly. It was me who walked around the room like a maniac, still not entirely believing what had happened. "We need to wait for Stefan first." She replied once again.

"ELENA! HE FUCKING KILLED OUR BROTHER!"

"We have to wait for Stefan."

I didn't realize I was still crying, but when my hands reached to run over my face, they came out wet. "What the fuck is wrong with him? I whispered. "He actually killed Jeremy. And what was this bullshit vampire thing he said? Is he mental?"

Elena didn't answer me, because at that moment Stefan rushed into the room. "Elena… God." His eyes were fixed on Jeremy's unmoving body.

"He had the ring on." Elena said quietly, which appeared to make both of them relieved for some reason.

"What ring? What are you talking about!?"

"He saw the ring. That's why he did it."

Elena shook her head desperately. "No, he didn't."

What the fuck was going on? Never in my life had I felt so confused about a conversation.

"It's Katherine. She got under his skin. She undid everything that was good about him." Stefan said.

"WOULD YOU TWO STOP FOR A MINUTE!?" I couldn't take it anymore. Both of them turned their faces towards me, as if finally remembering I was here. "Your brother killed Jeremy, and for some reason it's okay because Jeremy was wearing some ring? And who is this Katherine and how the fuck can she get so under his skin that he ended up fucking murdering someone!?"

"She doesn't know…" Stefan said with realization. "We should tell her."

"No, Stefan. Look at her." Elena shook her head. "She just came back, and she's freaking out. I can't let her get in-between everything; it's already bad enough Jeremy is involved. Compel her."

Now they have completely lost me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, do it."

"Do what?" I asked, suddenly somewhat afraid of all those things I didn't understand. "What's going on?"

In a blink of an eye Stefan appeared right before me, and I let out a yelp of surprise. Before I could say anything, my eyes caught in his intensive green gaze and I couldn't look away. "Listen Jessica, you went home from the funeral with Elena, but were so tired that you fell asleep almost immediately. You won't remember anything that has happened in the past hour. You fell asleep as soon as you got home."

"I fell asleep as soon as I got home." I said, before everything turned black.

* * *

 _ **Primrose Path - a course of action that seems easy and appropriate, but can actually end in calamity.**_

 **I know that the concept of another Gilbert is overused, but I hope I can add something new to it. Jessica will not be anything special - she's not the doppleganger, nor she is a witch/werewolf/any other supernatural creature. She is simply a human, the daughter of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. But that doesn't mean she will be defenceless.**

 **Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated ;)**


	2. Masquerade

**Thanks for the follows and favorites!And a special thank you to the two reviewers.**

 **BeaAdriana - I'm glad I had picked your interest!**

 **Brookeworm3 - thank you. Glad you like Jessica!**

* * *

 **Masquerade**

I was having a great time in Mystic Falls.

Even though I loved the buzz and noise of the busy NYC, there was something calming about the quiet town, and even though I thought it would be very hard for me to walk again the streets _they_ used to walk, it turned out that it was actually helping me. The memories that flooded my mind were kind and loving, and I remembered fondly everything from our life before the accident – the family dinners, the games, the kind smile of my mother and the reassuring nod of my father. It was still hard. But somehow it was getting better.

I was also glad to find out that Caroline was fine, even though at first she was acting kind of weird. Even for Caroline. It must've been everything she went through – the accident, breaking up with Matt, her issues with her mom. But soon enough she returned to the bossy Caroline that I knew and loved.

I had also me Aunt Jenna's boyfriend – Alaric, who was a history teacher at Mystic High. He was very polite and nice, and I instantly took a liking to him, much like I had with Stefan.

Because I came to visit when the celebration of the town's 150th anniversary, Mystic Falls was packed with its annual events. In addition to the new park that Mrs. Lockwood had founded, her son had hosted his annual lake party (which I enjoyed immensely. Water and abs were a great combination). Also, the masquerade ball was just around the corner, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I always enjoyed dressing up nicely, and the mystery of masks was very appealing to me.

There were really only two things that managed to ruin my great mood.

The first was Jeremy, who kept throwing these angry, sarcastic comments towards me, yet never admitted that he was mad at me. I figured it had to do with the fact that I left shortly after our parents were gone, but I, unlike Elena, always sucked at this kind of talks, and for now just ignored him. But I knew that my temper would get the best of me eventually. It was only a matter of time before I blew up.

The second was Aunt Jenna, who in the clumsiest act ever had somehow stabbed herself. There were a few tedious hours, but at the end stitches were applied and the doctor said she was allowed to return home. It was quite the delegation, really. Matt, Jeremy, Elena and me all accompanied her on her walk of shame back home.

"Stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna didn't really enjoy the extra attention.

"The doctors said you have to take it easy." Elena reminded her, closing the door after us.

"And you should listen to such handsome doctors, Aunt Jenna." I said, setting the extra bandages we got at the hospital on the kitchen counter. "God, I swear he was Patrick Dempsey's look-a-like."

"I'm going to die from is embarrassment…" Jenna mumbled grumpily as we carefully helped her lay on the sofa.

"No…" Matt said in the most amazingly nice way. I was suddenly reminded why he and Elena were such a good couple back then. Mr. and Mrs. Do-Good.

"I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?"

"A freak accident." Jeremy suggested with a shrug. "It happens."

"Yeah I've done it like twenty times at the Grill." We all looked at Matt with raised brows. "Okay, I'm just being nice."

"As always, Matty." I patted his back fondly.

"So, who are you going with to the ball?" I asked him mischievously after Elena and Jeremy went to the kitchen to unpack.

"I was planning on going with Caroline, but…" he drawled uncomfortably. I immediately regretted asking – their breakup was still very fresh. "But I have to do something there anyway so it turned out fine. You?"

"Tyler. But it's more like he needs to excuse himself from slutty Sophie and I'm being a good friend."

"Since when does Tyler want to get away from slutty Sophie?"

"Since she started talking about an actual relationship."

"Oh…" Matt said with realization.

"Indeed, my friend. Indeed."

"I'm going out." Jeremy called out and I heard the door shut behind him.

"I think I'll head out too." Matt said and started walking towards the door. "I'll see you tonight Jess. Bye Elena!"

"You sure you don't want to go tonight? It is my last day before I leave…" I tried to guilt-trip my sister as she sat on the couch next to me, watching as Jenna slept peacefully.

"With everything that's going on with Stefan… not really." Elena said and I suddenly became ashamed that I had brought it up, forgetting about her situation. "And you should stay to. It is your last day here, and Aunt Jenna needs us."

"No I don't. You go out tonight and leave me alone." Apparently Jenna wasn't really asleep.

"You sure, Aunt Jenna?" Elena sounded very worried.

"Yes. You are stressing enough, I don't need Ms. I've-seen-every-episode-of-House to stay too and scare me with her stories."

"Hey!" I protested. "You really could turn orange from eating carrots!"

* * *

It took me a while to get ready for the masquerade ball, but at the end I was very happy with the result.

The dress I got was purple, with a large cleavage and sequins on the straps and the middle, separating the body-hugging top and the flowing-to-my-knees bottom. I had paired it with dark purple pumps and earrings, and put my strawberry blonde hair in a high ponytail. My makeup complimented the lovely purple mask I had bought. Hazel eyes glinted in the mirror through the mask, and I smirked in victory. I looked _hot_.

"Wow, you look pretty." Elena said when she saw me, and so did Tyler, when I met him at the gates of the Lockwood manor. He looked really nice himself, his black suits complimenting his muscular body.

"Well, you're not too bad yourself." I grinned, batting my eyelashes playfully. Tyler just smirked and let me inside the house, where Matt and Sarah were waiting for us. The party had already started, but we went first to one of the empty rooms, in order to start the celebration correctly.

"Oh my god, this is not cheap." I exclaimed after doing a shot of vodka. "Wow, it's been a while…" The burn in my throat was suffocating, yet very warm and welcoming.

"We really shouldn't be here." Tyler sighed as he shook his head. It was weird, considering he was the one who usually convinced us to do stuff like that.

"Yeah, I know." Matt replied, pouring more alcohol into our shot glasses. "But we really need to turn this party up."

I took the shot he offered me and downed it quickly. In New-York I had done this very rarely, as I always thought I'll become the sad drunk and cry to everyone about my parents, but here I felt much more free and comfortable, and the change was very welcomed.

"Hey I want a shot!" Aimee protested, taking one as well.

Sarah agreed. "Yeah, me too. And then we have to dance!"

Matt refilled his, Tyler and mine glasses, and we all took another shot together. This was when I began to fill slightly dizzy. "You know, usually it's me corrupting you. I like this." Tyler said, finally relaxing thanks to the booze.

"Okay, let's go to the party!"

* * *

I was dancing outside with Tyler, Matt and Sarah (Aimee had wondered off somewhere), when I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Excusing myself from the group, I hurried over to my sister, who looked absolutely gorgeous in her black dress.

"Hey, Elena!" I wasn't sure if I was slurring words or not, but I grinned widely nonetheless. "You said you're not coming. What happened? Did Jenna kick you out?"

She looked at me for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, she kicked me out."

"Well I'm so glad you came!" I hugged her. "You look sexy as fuck. I always tell you to dress up more like this, glad you finally listened."

"Thanks Jessica. You look amazing too."

"Come party with Matt, Tyler, Sarah and me! We have some quality vodka."

"No, no." Elena waved me off. "I'm going to find Stefan."

"Stefan?" I was slightly confused. "Are you guys back together?"

"Of course." She half smiled half smirked. I rarely saw Elena use that expression.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you! I know you were really upset."

"Thank you." Our eyes locked. "Now go back to your friends."

"I'm going to go back to my friends." I said. "Bye Elena!"

I returned back to where we were dancing before, only to find that they went somewhere else. Searching for them through the entire Lockwood compound was a suicide mission, but I did it anyway, figuring it would be better than to just stay at the same place.

Mrs. Lockwood sure did an amazing job with the party. Every way I went something was happening – fire acrobats, hired dancers, amazing food… it seemed so surreal, as if taken from _Gossip Girl_. This was why I wanted some day to have this amount of money. When you were this rich and powerful, you could do anything you wanted. You could actually help the world somehow. You could organize a charity party for hundreds of people if you wished.

Noticing another familiar figure, I called out. "Caroline!"

She turned around so quickly it was comical. "Jess?" She asked. "Wow, you look pretty."

"You think?" I grinned and did a spin to show the back. Not my best idea. My drunken head didn't take it well. "Ouch, oh. You look really pretty too! This dress is amazing. Matt will drop his jaw when he sees you."

"Thanks!" She blushed.

"Hey, how's your mom? Are you still fighting?" I asked her, taking a glass of champagne from a waiter that walked by us.

"It's better." The blonde replied, smiling kindly. "It's really nice to have you back. You're the only person that can go through all of my bitching without losing their mind."

I shrugged, the smile on my face angelic. "It's both a blessing and a curse."

Caroline laughed, but the sound of a text message made her stop abruptly. "Listen I have to go, I'm sorry. You look amazing!" She said, and not waiting for my reply disappeared in the crowd.

What.

It appeared as if Caroline went back to being weirder than normal. Or maybe she wasn't as happy to see me again as she stated. The months I had been away must've truly left a mark, and apparently Caroline just wasn't as close to me as I was used to.

Or she could just be on her period. I mean, it's Caroline. She had done stranger things while on her period.

I finished the champagne in the glass and suddenly got the urge to go to the bathroom. I knew the way there, as I had been here for countless times. Fortunately, no one was there when I entered, and I could piss in peace without feeling awkward. After I was done, I washed my hands and my face, which helped me sober up a bit. That was the main reason I had noticed the laughing coming from Mr. Lockwood's office on the way back, and realized who it must be.

"I was looking everywhere for you!" I pouted as I entered the room, pointing an accusing finger at my ditching friends.

"You were gone far too long and we ran out of booze." Sarah shrugged her shoulders, taking a swig from a new bottle of alcohol. Tequila, this time. "Want some?"

"Ugh, not now. Maybe later." I said, sitting on the sofa.

"Pussy." Tyler mocked me, taking the bottle and drinking from it. He then handed it to Matt, who did the same thing.

"Lockwood, don't make me take on your sorry ass."

"I'd like to see you try, Gilbert."

"Not now. I'm wearing dress and heels."

"Not an excuse. Jess, you're weaker than a leaf. I could be wearing a gown and I would still be able to beat you."

"Oh, so you want to wear a gown?" I asked innocently.

"What?" Tyler looked shocked I had implied that. "No! That's not what I meant!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever makes you sleep at night." I looked around, finally remembering the other member of the group that for some reason wasn't here. "Hey, where's Aimee?" Had she still not returned?

"Not here." Sarah said. Well, thank you Captain Obvious.

"She's probably drunk somewhere." Tyler gave a much better answer.

"Like me." Matt slurred, and poured the tequila on the desk. I gawked at him, not believing my eyes.

"Wow. Don't do that." Tyler said sternly.

"What man? It's a party!" Matt was really drunk off his ass if he was acting like this. I had never seen him like this before. He reached for one of the photos on the desk. "Right dad?" Then, to my horror, he poured some booze on the photo as well. "You know, looks like your dad wants a drink."

"Hey Matt, cut it out." I said, looking worriedly at Tyler. He looked like he was about to blow up. He was never a patient guy, his anger issues legendary amongst the school. Everyone knew that, including Matt. This was why I couldn't understand what the fuck he was doing.

"What? The guy was a dick."

Tyler stood up, and I followed him, afraid he's going to do something we're all going to regret.

"Come on, you're being mean." Sarah commented from her seat. "His dad's dead…"

"Give me the picture." Tyler reached out for the photo, but Matt pulled his hand away.

"Remember how your dad used to slap you around?" Matt asked and slapped Tyler across the neck. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing.

It was so unlike the blonde guy. "Hey, Matt… stop this."

"Are you kidding?" Tyler exclaimed in anger.

Matt just smirked like a drunken idiot. "I'm just having fun."

"Put the picture down now man."

And Matt did as he was told. Only he smashed the picture so hard on the desk, the frame broke and glass shuttered everywhere.

"Okay, you need to calm you drunk ass right now!" Tyler was ever so close to blowing up and beating the shit out of his friend.

"Do something about it!" Matt challenged.

"I'm not going to fight you!" Tyler exclaimed, and at the moment I couldn't be more proud of him. Though I knew his exclamation was doomed to fail the moment Matt tackled him to the ground and started punching him.

Tyler finally gave in.

"Oh, shit." I couldn't believe this was happening. "You two need to stop! Seriously – " I reached out to separate them, but one of them simply pushed my away and I fell on the ground helplessly." Ouch, fuck." This was why I focused on mental strength.

"What is going on?" I heard Caroline's voice, and turning around saw that she came into the room. "Stop!" She, too, reached out to stop them, but unlike me she somehow managed to separate the two and keep them at hand's reach. Perhaps I should've become a cheerleader like she advised me. "Stop!"

"I can't!" Matt growled, trying the best he can to grab Tyler through Caroline. "I can't, let me go! I have to finish!"

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Tyler shouted at him.

"Let me go!"

Caroline looked at him sternly for a second, before elbowing him and knocking him down. My jaw dropped to the ground. This was definitely not something you learned in cheer practice. But it appeared as if she had overdone it, because she called out her ex-boyfriend's name and crouched beside him, checking how he was.

In the meantime, Tyler helped me up to my feet. "Sorry about it."

"It's Matt fault." I said, checking him for any visible bruises. Other than being ruffled, he seemed fine. "If I knew he was that kind of drunk – Look out!"

It was too late. He turned around not quickly enough, and the knife Sarah was holding stabbed him in the shoulder. I yelped in shock and he grunted, pushing her away from him. I didn't see where she fell, but I heard the nasty crack her skull made, and then saw her body lying on the ground, her eyes opened yet not moving.

"What… what the hell?" was all I could say. Instinctively I reached to press my hand on Tyler's wound to stop the bleeding, but my eyes were stuck on Sarah. "Caroline… Check if she's…"

"No, no, no." Tyler muttered, panic flashing all over his sweaty face. "Fuck, no. Come on, wake up."

The blonde understood what I meant, and kneeled beside the girl, her fingers reaching for her neck and pressing against the side, where the pulse was supposed to be located.

"This can't happen." Tyler was going to shock. "This can't be happening. Come on, Caroline. Tell me she's not…"

But Caroline's look on her face wasn't promising. "Tyler, it's going to be okay. It was an accident." I said, trying to calm him down.

Tyler wasn't listening. He was sweating, and looked like he was about to have a panic attack. He pushed me aside and started walking around the room, grabbing his head and grunting. "No, no, no." He doubled over, and growled in pain. "No!"

"Oh my god, Tyler-" I went to kneel by his side, but Caroline stopped me, standing before me and blocking my path.

I didn't understand why at first, but then I looked at Tyler again, he was on his knees, and his eyes… his eyes weren't their usual brown, but a combination of amber and gold. He let out an inhuman growl, and it was then that I understood why Caroline had blocked my path.

* * *

"So you and Matt were fighting, and Tyler and I were talking about his dad." Caroline and I were figuring out what to tell Mrs. Lockwood. Tyler had gone to put Matt in the car and fetch her, and meanwhile I did my best to not look towards the direction of… the body.

"And we didn't really see anything. She was dancing, and then she just dropped. She must've fell and hit her head."

"Ok." I agreed. "That's the best I can think of, and it's simple so we won't mess it up." The adrenaline was still rushing through my body, and it was the only reason I was able to think somewhat straight.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked with concern. "I saw you fall earlier, and… everything else."

By everything else she meant the mental trauma of watching your friend kill another friend, and then witness his eyes change color like some freaky horror movie.

In truth, I was far from okay. Nothing made sense to me and it was driving me nuts. I could pass Matt's behavior as being extremely drunk, but Sarah's… people did not just decide to stab someone. She wasn't even that drunk, and I just couldn't understand why she had done this.

And even putting this aside, there was the issue of Tyler's eye changing color thingy. At first I tried to reason with myself, that it was just a trick of the light, but Caroline had seen it too, from a different angle, so that theory was ruined. Which left us with… Tyler's eyes actually, properly changed eye color in front of us. I didn't know how to explain it. There were cases of people changing eye color, but it was never like that – sudden and so fast. That was unheard of, and it was weird as fuck. There was definitely something going on with the guy, but my mind just couldn't figure it out.

But I wasn't going to say that to Caroline. Instead, I simply settled on, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. You?"

She nodded, and we waited in silence for a few seconds, before Mrs. Lockwood entered.

Mrs. Lockwood gasped at the sight of Sarah. "What happened to the poor girl!?"

"Matt and I were fighting, we broke up you know…" Caroline began to explain. "And Sarah was drunk, she was dancing…"

"Yeah, Tyler and I were talking, and then we just heard a loud _boom_ , and she was lying on the floor like this." I added.

Mrs. Lockwood took it all in, and then said sternly, "Okay. Caroline, your mom's on the way and we called Sarah's parents. It was an accident. A terrible, tragic accident."

Wow. Mrs. Lockwood was a badass – she dealt with it like a pro.

"Mom, the sheriff's here." Tyler called out and came inside. He looked weak and pale, sweat still glistering on his forehead. His suit was all ruffled and I just wanted to tell him everything was going to be fine. Then I remembered his eyes, and the inhuman growl. I still didn't understand what had happened.

"I'll go prepare her, just don't leave." Mrs. Lockwood announced. "Just stay here okay? She's going to want to hear the story from you."

She left, and for a second there was an awkward silence in the room.

"I'll deal with Matt. I don't want him involved in any of this." Caroline said.

"Good." I nodded. "He probably won't remember anything. Make sure he drinks a lot of water, though. He's going to be dehydrated."

"What are you doing?"

We both looked at Tyler. "Huh?"

"Fixing a very bad situation." Caroline replied.

"Why? I did this." Tyler inquired. "I killed her."

Oh Tyler... sometimes he was so, so, so stupid. I had the urge to roll my eyes.

"Tyler you didn't mean to-" I tried to put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"But she's dead." He exclaimed, his expression firm, yet very miserable. "You don't know what that means…"

"Actually, Tyler, I think I do." Caroline said. We both looked at her in awe. How the hell would she know what it's like to kill a person? I just couldn't believe she truly knew how he felt.

Tyler seemed to think so too. "No, you don't, Caroline."

"Has your wound healed?" She raised a brow. Now what the fuck was she talking about?

Tyler checked his shoulder, and to his and mine astonishment, no longer was there the bloody wound from before. Oh no. The only thing that was there was dry blood. Other than that, perfectly healed skin.

"Holy shit…" I rubbed my eyes, making sure I wasn't imagining things. That was not naturally possible. My brain started thinking of a rational explanation, but came up with none. Everything I thought of, common sense had rejected.

"How did you…?" Tyler seemed shocked as well, but Caroline didn't look surprised at all. In fact, she held a very smug, knowing look on her face that made me think she held the answer to all of my questions regarding every little weird thing that had happened tonight.

But my instincts told me that whatever was going on was funky as hell, and I didn't know whether it was safe to ask what was going on. The best course of action that could be taken was not to draw attention, and investigate afterwards.

Mrs. Lockwood returned with Sheriff Forbes, and she questioned us briefly before letting us go. I didn't have to be told twice, and after saying goodbye to both of my friends I all but darted towards the parking lot, praying to god Jeremy hadn't taken off yet.

Jeremy's car was gone, but Elena's car was still present, and so was my sister. She wasn't dressed in her dress anymore, instead wearing jeans and a pink shirt with a large stain on it. "Hey, sis! Usually you wait to get home to change clothes." I called, hurrying to get by her side.

"Oh… someone spilled a drink on the dress so I changed." She replied, her eyes searching something on me intensely.

Up close the stain looked suspiciously like blood. "What happened to you? Are you hur-"

"No, no. Someone spilled wine on me afterwards too." She was quick to calm me down.

"Twice in one night?" I chuckled. "That's some bad luck."

Elena smiled weakly. "The worst luck. How was the ball?"

I winced, everything that happened coming back to my mind. "It was fine, until some weird shit began happening."

"Weird how?"

Was she going to believe me? I had no idea. But there was one thing I knew – if there was a person _I could_ tell them about this, it was my sister. I think. "Sarah attacked Tyler and stabbed him in the shoulder, and he shoved her away, she hit her head and died."

"Oh god!" She gasped.

"Yeah, and it wasn't even the weirdest part-"

"Jess look out!"

The only thing I managed to see when I turned around was a man wearing a mask, before he hit me on the head and everything went black.

I had woken up with a gasp, the only thing on my mind – Elena.

"Lena? Lena!?" I looked around me, searching for her. I was in an unfamiliar place, lying on a couch. My head was not aching at all, which was strange because that man had hit me pretty hard (but not unwelcomed).

"Jessica?" I turned my head towards the voice that called me, and my eyes landed on Stefan Salvatore, Elena's… I didn't know whether they were together again or not. "How are you? I found you passed out in the parking lot. What happened?"

"Elena's gone, Stefan! Someone took her!"

* * *

 **Reviews are appreciated, as always ;) Thank you for reading!**


	3. Rose

**From this chapter on, replies to reviews will be at the end of the chapter. Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Rose**

I was freaking out.

No. To say I was freaking out would be an understatement.

"Tell us what happened again."

I looked over to Damon, who was sitting on one of the armchairs in the Salvatore boarding house (as Stefan kindly explained), his arms crossed. Boy, was this guy annoying me. "For the hundredth time, I met Elena at the parking lot, we talked, then she told me to watch out, I turned around and there was this creepy guy in a mask covering his entire face. He knocked me out and that's it."

"And what makes you think he kidnaped Elena?"

"Because when Stefan found me she wasn't there. What else could it be?"

"Maybe he punched you because he doesn't like you." Damon offered with a shrug. "And he an Elena went to grab a drink."

"Not now Damon." Stefan cut him off. "Jeremy says she's not home. I think Jessica might be right."

"Thank you." Even though the situation was dire, I didn't forget to use my sarcastic tone. "Now why won't you let me call the police!?"

"This has Katherine written all over it." Stefan decided to ignore me, turning to Damon.

"Kathrine's in the tomb. Trust me; I'm the one who shut her in."

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Well, I know the hold she has on you…"

"She's in the tomb, period. End of story. But she did say something to me right before I shut her in. I thought she was lying."

"What did she say?"

"Wow, wow, wow. Time out!" I've had enough listening to this conversation. "What's going on? Who's this Katherine and how is she related to Elena being kidnapped? And why did you shut her inside a tomb?"

Damon sighed, irritated. "Listen, ginger head-"

"It's actually strawberry blonde."

"You really thing I give a fuck?" the raven-haired guy raised a brow. "Anyway, we don't have time for explaining everything to you."

"Oh, no no no." I had had enough of not understanding what was going on. "You are going to tell me right now, or I swear to god-"

In a blink of an eye, Damon was in front of me. I yelped in surprise, not understanding how he had moved so fast. "You want an explanation? Fine."

And then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his sclera became blood-shot, and dark veins surrounded his eyes. He opened his mouth wide, and two long fangs popped out.

I was not even ashamed that I started screaming.

"Are you happy now Damon?" I heard Stefan sigh.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!?"

The older Salvatore cocked his head to the side. "Isn't it obvious? I'm a vampire."

It took me a few seconds to calm done, and I was still a bit shaking when I asked, "Are you fucking serious?"

"Dead serious. Pun intended."

My brain was working rapidly. What I had seen before my eyes was not natural – that much was obvious. But vampire? It seemed like a crappy parody of Twilight. Nevertheless, there was no denying what I had seen. The way Damon moved incredibly fast, the way his eyed changed so quickly, the way his elongated fangs popped out… If you put aside how incredibly improbable it was, it made sense.

Yet… "How is it possible?" Perhaps the creepy guy had hit my head a little too hard.

"The wonders of life."

It took me a few more moments to wrap my mind around the idea that maybe vampires were real. There was no denying what I'd seen. There was simply no way for Damon to grow fangs in seconds, unless he was telling the truth about who he was. "So are you two vampires?"

"Aha." Damon looked oh-so smug looking at my face.

"And is this Katherine woman a vampire?"

"Yup."

"And Tyler?"

"Yea- what? No. Why would you think that?" Damon looked very confused.

"Well his eyes changed color in front of me yesterday after the accident with Sarah."

The two Salvatore brothers exchanged worried looks. "So little Lockwood is a werewolf now." Damon announced grimly.

I gaped at him. Did he just say… "Werewolf!?"

"Yes, sunshine. A werewolf."

"What else is there?" My head was spinning. "Mermaids? Unicorns? Fairies?"

"No, Jessica, none of those." Stefan replied patiently.

"Yet." Damon added.

Stefan sighed, rubbing his temples with two fingers. "Now that we sorted this out, could we please go back to Elena?"

"Yes, thank you brother dear." Damon said sarcastically. "Katherine said that Elena's in danger, but how the hell was I supposed to know she would start spouting the truth?"

"Well, then let's go talk to her." I suggested.

Damon sent me a look that told me he thought I was retarded. "Let me explain to you what will happen, since you don't know: We're gonna ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her, and then she's gonna get out and kill us. That's exactly what she wants."

"Why did you lock her up in the first place?"

"She tried to kill us."

"Ah." My mouth became a lovely shape of 'O'. "Carry on."

"Maybe Bonnie can help." Stefan suggested after a second of thought. "She must know something."

Yet another confusing thing. "How could Bonnie help?"

Damon waved me off mater-of-factly. "Oh, she's a witch."

* * *

After changing the dress I wore yesterday into some clothes that seemed to hang in the boarding house for a _while_ , the three of us drove to school in Stefan's car. The ride consisted mainly of me inquiring about this new world I had been exposed to. Never, ever in my life would I imagine that supernatural things were roaming among us, and especially in Mystic Falls. Apparently, the town's folklore about vampires was as true as it could be.

Stefan answered my questions politely and with understanding my natural curiosity. Damon, on the other hand…

"Urgh, finally." He stepped outside of the car the second Stefan parked. "Another round of twenty one questions and I was going to drive a stake through my heart."

"Oh, so that's how you kill a vampire. I'll remember it for when you'll piss me off." I retorted, getting out of the car as well and slicking my hair. "Wait, is it really how you kill a vampire? Are there any other ways?"

Damon groaned loudly, imitating a gun with two fingers. He put them against his temple and pulled the imaginative trigger.

"Yes, Jessica. You can kill a vampire by driving a wooden stake through the heart." Stefan began explaining patiently, sending a disappointed look towards his older brother. "You can also decapitate, burn, rip the heart out, over exposure to the sun… maybe Vervain overdose, but I'm not sure."

I look at him in confusion. "If exposure to the sun can kill a vampire, how is it that you two are still alive?"

"Magic."

I looked at Damon skeptically, my brows raised.

"Actually, it is magic." Stefan said, showing me a rather tacky ring on his finger. "We have rings that a witch enchanted in order to protect us from the sunlight."

"Here's Bonnie." Damon stopped the conversation, pointing towards the dark-skinned girl who stood next to one of the lockers. It's been a long time since I've been to Mystic High. It sure did bring back memories.

"I think it's best if you'll stay here while we go to her." Stefan told him. "You two are not exactly buddies."

Damon was going to protest, but a second of thought later he had given up, shrugging in agreement. Stefan and I went to Bonnie, who had smiled when she saw us. Her smile faded away when she noticed the look on our faces. "What happened?" She inquired.

"Not here." Stefan replied, entering an empty classroom. "Someone's taken Elena. We think it's Katherine."

"What?" Bonnie visibly tried to stay composed, but the news had clearly shaken her. "When?"

"Yesterday, after the Masquerade ball." I informed her. "I was talking to her in the parking lot, and then someone in a mask knocked me out, and Elena's been missing since." She didn't know what to say, clearly debating with herself whether I knew about her or not. "And can I just point out how fucking cool is it that you're a witch?"

"How do you know?"

"Damon and I told her." Stefan supplied. "Listen, we want to talk to Katherine, and we might need to release her from the tomb in the process."

"I can't undo the tomb spell, Stefan." Bonnie shook her head. "Even if I wanted to. It took both me and my Grams to undo it the first time."

So there was a first time. Interesting.

"But I can open the door, right? Talk to her?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, but she's not gonna tell you anything. Not without something in return." Bonnie crossed her arms on her chest.

"And you said they wouldn't get along." I murmured to Stefan. Bonnie seemed to have heard it though.

"Who?"

"You and Damon. Stefan told me you weren't exactly chummy-chummy."

Bonnie was going to say something, but Stefan had cut her. "Bonnie, I have to do something." Wow, 'I'? What about Damon and me? What were we? Air? "I have no idea who has Elena; I have no idea where she is."

The witch nodded at him, and after thinking for a moment, her face lit up with an idea. "What if there was another way to find her? I'm going to need a map."

* * *

"You know… I think you kinda failed to mention that along with a map you'll need my _blood_." I commented nervously, running a hand through my hair.

Stefan had gone to get a map, and had returned with a worried Jeremy, who was freaking out about Elena's disappearance. Apparently, my little brother knew about the supernatural as well. Only I was left out, and suddenly I felt _oh-so-loved_.

Bonnie had laid out the map on one of the desks and informed us of her plan – to locate Elena using our familial connection. Meaning our blood.

"I can do this if you're scared." Jeremy offered, and I glared at him.

"No!"

My little bro just shrugged, and returned his attention to our residential witch.

"Alaric said we've got to clear out of here within ten minutes." Stefan reminded us impatiently. "He stocked me up with some weapons, so after we'll find the location, Damon and I will be good to go."

"What about us?" I asked, my eyes not leaving the _very_ sharp knife in Bonnie's hand.

"If you come, we'll have to protect you too. It will complicate our job to get Elena out of there without her being hurt." The vampire explained.

I nodded in agreement, losing my attention for a second. At that exact moment Bonnie decided it was time to cut my palm, and I hissed in pain when the blade connected with my flesh. It wasn't that bad, but it certainly wasn't fun.

A few blood drops was all it took, and as Bonnie began chanting, I watched in awe the drops connect and trail a path from our location – Mystic Falls – to somewhere near Reidsville. I took a napkin and pressed it on my wound as Bonnie pointed at the new position of the blood. "There. She's there."

"That's 300 miles away." Jeremy pointed out.

Stefan wasn't too pleased by this. "No Bonnie. We need a more exact location than this."

"That's as close as I can get."

"We can map it," Jeremy suggested. "Aerial view will show us what's around there, help us narrow the area."

"Perfect. Call me with whatever you can find. And go home and wait there." Stefan said solemnly and left the classroom quickly.

"So bossy." I huffed. "Do you guys have a car? I came here with Stefan."

We drove home in Jeremy's car, and the ride was awkwardly quiet. Jeremy was still mad at me for ditching them after mom and dad were gone (though he was denying it with a passion), and Bonnie who had clearly noticed the tension was trying not to get in-between. I, myself, did not want to have a talk about everything, at least not in front of Bonnie. If I ever had to speak of that matter, I'd rather not do it in front of someone who was not family. Bonnie was a nice girl, but she was Elena's best friend, not mine.

We came into the house, and Jenna looked up from the couch in confusion. "Jessica? What are you still doing in here? I thought I missed your flight back."

Well… shit.

With Elena disappearing, and all the vampire, werewolf, witch stuff that was going on around me, I had completely forgotten about the flight back to New-York I was supposed to take. I had worked extremely hard to get a scholarship to the private school, and yet I didn't really want to return there.

Honestly, I didn't want to return there at all. In addition to the school being pretty much the same as the one in Mystic Falls (not including the uniform and the snobbish rich dicks), I had learned too much, and leaving it all behind seemed irrational. Elena and Jeremy were too entangled in the supernatural mayhem of Mystic Falls, and I knew I would worry too much about living far while they were consistently put in danger. Also, I had just learned that vampires. Werewolves and witches existed. There was no way I could go back to mundane life after learning something like that.

"Ugh, yeah… I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." I made a quick excuse.

Jenna didn't look convinced. "Okay, weirdo…" fortunately, she decided to let it go. "Where's Elena? I haven't seen her all day." Or maybe it would've been better if she just stayed on the previous topic.

"She's with Stefan."

"With Alaric."

"She's at Caroline's house."

Jeremy, Bonnie and I looked at each other, baffled. That was not going to satisfy Aunt Jenna. "She was with Alaric at the school… but then she met Stefan and they went to Caroline's house…" I tried to sound casual while formulation the worst lie in the history of bad lies.

We were all extremely lucky she was on pain killers. It was the only reason she accepted this with a smile and turned around on the couch to fall asleep.

Bonnie went upstairs, and I went to the kitchen in search of a specific vegetable in the fridge.

"What are you doing?" I heard Jeremy ask.

"I'm going to make something with eggplants. You know Elena loves eggplants."

My little bro chuckled dryly, and I closed the fridge door and looked at him. "No offence, Jess, but it's a little late for you to play the caring sister. Don't you have a flight to catch?"

I just stared at him. It took everything I had not to start yelling at him. "Okay Jeremy, I have had enough of your passive-aggressive bullshit I've tolerated this week. Either say what you want to say, or stop acting like this!"

"Okay. You ran away after mom and dad died. You separated yourself from our family, and now you come back and act as if nothing's wrong."

"The only reason why I didn't say anything about this is that I didn't want to bring the past. I wanted all of us to move on. Elena has, Jenna has. They understand that this is how _I_ dealt with their death!" It was the first time I had actually acknowledged it out loud. "It's exactly how you dealt with it by getting drunk and stoned."

"How did you…?"

"What? You think I didn't talk with Elena about how you were coping? I care for you Jeremy, more than anything in the world. You're my baby bro. I left because I knew it was the best way for me to get over our parents dying, but don't think for a minute that I didn't miss or care about you."

Jeremy took it all in, and asked, "Then why didn't you say all of this before? What, am I supposed to guess all of this? From my point of view, my big sister ran away and abandoned me when I needed her most."

I chuckled, though what he said sent yet another ping of guilt to my heart. I didn't show it, and stood on my tiptoes so I could ruffle his hair. "I'm not the talk-about-my-feelings type, you know that. It's too awkward and uncomfortable. I keep everything in, and I guess I forgot you're not psychic."

"For someone who's so smart, you're incredibly stupid, sis." He commented. "I'm going to go sit with Bonnie."

"Sure." I said, not commenting about how extremely awkward it's going to be for them.

Jeremy went upstairs, and after putting my hair into a high ponytail, I took my phone out and searched for recipes with eggplant. God, Elena was so weird.

The only recipe I found that all of its ingredients were present at the house was pasta with eggplants, and after I put everything I needed on the counter and put 'desperate housewives' on the TV, I began cooking the dish.

The pasta turned out to be amazing. I grinned victoriously at my accomplishment, knowing that Elena would like it for sure. I closed the pot so it would remain hot, and then sat on the armchair beside Jenna.

Even though my eyes were focused on the TV, I couldn't help but think about my sister. Was she okay? Did Stefan and Damon find her? Why the fuck did someone kidnap her? I had fallen asleep with these thoughts in my head, and dreamt of my sister bound to a wooden chair in a cabin, with Eva Longoria threatening her to tell her where the money is.

"Jess… Jess…" I was woken up by a soft voice calling. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I blurrily noticed that Elena was standing in front of me, a tired smile on her face.

"Lena?" I called out, finally waking up completely. I stood up and began checking her for any injuries, noticing practically none, except for her bloodied shirt I remembered from yesterday. "Oh my god, I was so worried!" I hugged her tightly.

She returned my hug. "I'm fine, Jess. Don't worry." She broke our embrace and looked at me sternly.

A momentarily awkward silence filled the room. "So… vampires."

Elena looked guilty. "…Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I tried not to sound hurt, but I couldn't hide it completely. The fact that my twin (even if not by blood) had hid something so important from me… it wasn't a nice thought. I was used to times when Elena and I shared everything between us, but like many things, apparently this had changed as well.

"Jessica… I need you to understand that I wanted to protect you." Elena said with such sincerity I couldn't help but believe. It was so like her, no matter how inconvenient. "You were in New-York; there was no reason for you to get worried. And then you returned, but only for a week… I really didn't want you to worry."

"Well, no need to worry about that." I informed with a grin. "I'm staying in Mystic Falls."

"But what about New-York? The scholarship?"

"The school in New-York is practically no different from Mystic High. I get bored anyway."

"Then I'm glad." Elena hugged me again. "I missed you in my life."

"Me too, sis. Me too."

"But I'm still angry with you, young lady!" I scolded playfully, getting up from the couch and slicking back my hair. "Never hide something that important from me again. We both know who's the brains of the family."

"Obviously. Me." My sister played along, a playful smile stretching on her face as well.

"Keep wishing. We both know who's the better twin. Err cousin." It was still weird saying that out loud. "Listen, I made eggplant pasta. We're going to sit down, eat it, and you're going to tell me everything that I don't know. Deal?"

"Deal."

We sat around the table, a bowl of pasta in front of each of us. With a spoonful in her mouth, Elena began. "So, I guess you'll want to hear everything from the beginning. It all started on the first day of school. I met this really hot guy named Stefan Salvatore…"

* * *

 **I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Also, thank you to everyone who added the story to their favorites and follows!**

 **And a special thank you to everyone who had reviewed! It means a lot to me.**

 **jamcneill680 - I'm happy that you like the story already. I hope you'll continue liking it!**

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 **BeaAdriana - I'm glad you found that refreshing. I'm trying to make this story as original as possible, since there are so many "Elena's twin" stories out there. I hope I will do a good job. Your comments really help with that, so thank you!**

 **Imarifirst - As it is a Klaus/Jessica story, I have no intentions of making Jessica romantically inclined with Damon. I can't say anything about Damon/Elena, because even though I love them as a couple, I will do whatever fits the storyline of this story best. Concerning the rest of your review, I did not understand it. Could you please explain it to me?**


	4. Katerina

Katerina

I was the embodiment of the teacher's pet as I dialed the phone number of my school's secretariat. Some research had suggested that the way you look affected your voice, and I needed all the help I could get with my scheme.

"Hello?" The grumpy voice of Ronda the secretary answered through the phone.

"Ronda!" I exclaimed cheerfully, smiling as if she could actually see me. "How's my favorite secretary in the whole world?"

And thus began my most complicated bullshiting process yet. Half an hour passed before I finally heard her sigh over the phone. "So you no longer go to our school?"

"Basically."

"Alright." She said and then all I heard was the dial tone.

My heart broke into a milion little pieces. I thought we had a beautiful relationship, Ronda and I, but she disregarded me with such ease.

Oh well, I thought as I took a sip from my cup of coffee. At least it worked.

It's not like I had a choice, really. Now that it became known to me that vampires, werewolfs, witches and whatnot were roaming around Mystic Falls, there was no way I was going back to New York, and letting my family deal with this bullshit alone. Elena made a dick choice keeping everything from me - which I still didn't know how to react to, by the way. It was a pretty big blow to my self-esteem - but now that I was fully aware of the situation, I was not going to leave in the face of trouble. I was the brains of the Gilberts, after all. Elena needed me to be there and fix all of her stupid desicions.

Said twin - err, cousin - came into the kitchen and rudely grabbed the cup from my hand. She drank from it quickly and returned it to my possesion, smiling angelically. "I have to go to the boarding house before school. You wanna ride with Jeremy?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'll come with you." I replied and stood up from the chair, taking my school bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

The ride to the boarding house was short, and after Elena parked the car we knocked on the main door of the Salvatore residence. The place was really beautiful, I noted. Yesterday I was too concentrated on Elena and the new world I was introduced to, and I didn't actually look around me. But now… wow, this place was almost like the Lockwood manor.

"Hello Elena… and Jessica." Damon looked a tad surprised to see me. I tried my best to ignore that.

"Is Stefan here? He called. He said it was important." Elena said.

"Right this way." He opened the door. "Though I do think he called for you and not your... _lovely_ sister."

"What can I say, I missed your pretty face." I replied sarcastically, stepping around him and entering the house. "By the way, Elena had told me about everything, and I just have to say – you're a total dick."

Damon looked startled, his eyes darting to my sister. "You told her everything?! Since when did she become a part of the gang?!"

"Gang? What are we, Scooby Doo?"

"Hey." Stefan greeted us. He and Elena shared a very uncomfortable eye-exchange, and for a second I felt the urge to leave them in the room alone. Ah, teen drama.

"What is this about?" Elena asked.

Someone came into my view – a pretty woman with a brown pixie cut, who awkwardly waved at Elena and smiled weakly.

"You." Elena's voice was cold, and when I looked over to my sister, I knew this person wasn't her friend.

"Who is she?" I asked.

"The person who kidnapped me." Elena answered sharply.

The woman simply smiled. "Please, call me Rose."

* * *

"Okay, you have to understand I only know what I've picked over the years and I don't know what's true and what's not true." Rose said after we relocated ourselves to the living room. I sat next to Elena, but my eyes were fixed on the female vampire in front of us. "It's the problem with all this vampire shit… but Klaus; I know he's real."

"And who is he?" I asked, not liking the fact that I was once again left out. But glancing to my left, Elena's expression was as clueless as mine.

"He's one of the originals, he's a legend." Damon explained. "I thought Elena told you _everything_."

"From the first generation of vampires." Stefan added.

Realization hit Elena's face. "Like Elijah?"

"Who's Elijah?" I was _not_ going down not-knowing road again.

"He was the vampire Rose wanted to give me to in exchange for her freedom." My sister supplied quickly.

Nodding once, I remarked bitterly, "You have done a really crappy job at telling me everything, sister dear."

"No. Elijah was the Easter bunny compared to Klaus." Rose said. "He's a foot soldier. Klaus is the real deal."

Stefan nodded. "Klaus is known to be the oldest."

"Okay," Elena put one finger up to halt the conversation; trying to understand what had just been thrown upon her. "So you're saying that the oldest vampire in the history of time is coming after me?"

Cue my most shocked face ever.

"Yes, he is." Rose said, while Stefan gave a defensive, "No, he's not."

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight." I stood up, unable to remain in one position any longer. "All of you managed somehow to drag my very _human_ sister into some vampire mess and now the fucking oldest of them all is hunting her!?"

"She was dragged into this since she was born." By her tone I knew Rose thought I was exaggerating. "She's the doppelgänger."

"The doppelganger?" I repeated, only without the accent. "Of whom?"

"Of the original Petrova. The one who's blood was used to seal the sun and the moon curse."

The Salvatore brother had told me yesterday what the curse was, and I turned my face towards Elena miserably. "You've got yourself into some deep shit, sister."

"Hold on with the assumptions, Strawberry Shortcake." Damon said, standing in the center next to Rose. He really needed to stop with those nicknames. "What the two of them are saying is, I mean if what she's saying is true…"

"Which it is." Rose added solemnly.

"And you're not just saying that so I don't kill you."

"Which I'm not."

"Then we're looking at a solid maybe." Damon concluded with a shrug.

"Not very reassuring…" I commented dryly.

Stefan crouched in front of Elena, who looked too shocked to bear any emotion on her face. "Look, Elijah's dead, right? No one else knows that you exist."

"Not that we know of." Rose interjected.

Stefan glared at her and continued. "I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, we're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some stupid bedtime story."

Oh, why did I have the feeling that he was real and kicking… Elena had the _worst_ luck. And by association, so did I.

"Oh he's real. And he doesn't give up." Rose confirmed my worst fears. "If he wants something, he gets it. If you're not afraid of Klaus then you're an idiot."

"Alright. We're shaking." Damon had even made the effor to visibly shake his body. "You've made your point."

"Come on Jess." Elena stood up and grabbed her bag.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked her.

"To school. We're going to be late."

Stefan immediately stood up. "Let me grab my stuff, I'll go with you."

"It's okay, we know where it is." Elena said in not a very nice tone.

She left the room, and after sending an apologetic smile towards Stefan, I hurried after her.

"What was that, sis?" I questioned as I entered the car. "Stefan is a nice dude."

"He needs to think that I don't want to talk to him." Elena replied sternly, starting the car and driving into the street. "So that he won't look for me today."

"What? Why?"

"Because we're going to see someone. Call Caroline. Tell her we need her help."

* * *

We ended up going to school only for an hour, so that I could register as a new student at Mystic High. After that we met Caroline in the parking lot and drove to the edge of the forest, where we continued walking somewhere unknown, much to my dismay.

"I can't believe we went for only an hour," I complained, swatting away yet another branch that dare to hit me in the face. "My bag is too heavy for walking in the forest. And my skirt isn't made for forest-walking either. You should've warned me!"

"Tell everyone I wasn't feeling well and Jessica took me home from school." Elena ignored me, talking to Caroline.

Caroline, who was a fucking vampire. Did I fail to mention that? Because everyone else sure had, and when I found out not even an hour ago, I was surprised. And by surprised, I mean fucking shocked.

Turns out that Caroline was acting weird because of the transition into a vampire she was going on through. Who would've thought?

In all honestly, I was beginning to question how much of the 'I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you' bullshit I could forgive. Everything in this town seemed to be connected to the supernatural one way or another, consuming everything that was mundane and normal. The scale of it was too large, too burdensome and Elena had chosen to hide it all with the pretense that 'she was just protecting me'. While it was touching, she really had no right to decide what I needed and needed not to know. She was threading close to the hero-complex for my liking. When we were little, we used to share everything. What the fuck had happened to that?

Oh right, I ran away and hid away my feelings inside until they exploded. Fun memories.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I'm a terrible liar." Caroline's voice brought me back from the depths of my thoughts. The blonde mumbled as we made our way into what I recognized as part of the old Fell residence.

Elena chose to ignore her words. "And keep Stefan busy, I don't want him to know what I'm up to."

"I'm even worse in duplicity. You know that…" The blonde whined.

"And don't you think that it's a bad idea not telling Stefan?" I raised my brows at my sister, eyeing her down as she descended into the ruins. "I haven't been exposed to all of this for long, but even I had learned that it's dangerous and you would want an old mighty vampire by your side."

"No, Jessica. If we tell Stefan, he will somehow manage to stop us from talking to her. But Katherine probably knows something that would help us, and with the right amount of incentives, she will tell us."

"Wow. I was always the manipulative one." I gaped at her. "I'm not sure I like this look on you, sister."

The stairs were pretty steep, and I struggled all the way down with in my unfit-for-doing-this-shit skirt. The inside of the ruins was dark and dump, and also familiar in some way. "I think I made out in here once."

Caroline chucked and Elena rolled her eyes at me. "Caroline, help me please."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Caroline asked, doubt in her tone.

"Yes, I'm sure." Elena replied solemnly. "She's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one who can tell me how to stop him."

"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never given it. Are you sure about it?"

"Yes, Caroline, I'm sure." Elena was probably starting to get irritated with all the questions. "I need to know, please."

Caroline began moving aside a big stone that was blocking an opening in the wall and I wondered aloud, "She knows the truth about the oldest vampire in the world? Just how old is this Katherine?"

"Very old, sweetheart… very old."

"AHH!" I yelped in surprise, my eyes not believing what was in front of me. She had yellow-grey dirty skin, unkempt hair, the dress from the ball, a very raspy voice, and her overall state wasn't too good, but it was indeed Elena who stood before me, a bittersweet smirk on her tired face. I turned around to my sister, who was looking at her other self with determination in her eyes. A few glances back and forth later, I finally came to the conclusion that what I was seeing was actually, properly real.

"So when she said doppelganger, she actually meant doppelganger." I breathed shakily. "So you were the one I saw at the masquerade… I knew Elena wouldn't wear something so slutty."

The other Elena – Katherine, I presumed – chuckled dryly, and then her eyes met my sister's. "I'm guessing the wayward Gilbert had finally been indulged in the happenings of our dear town." Her eyes settled dangerously on my sister, and I had the instinct to cover her from such an intense gaze. "Hello Elena. Came to watch me whiter away?"

Caroline sent me one last desperate look, before turning around and speeding away (most likely to bullshit Stefan as if her life depended on it).

"Does Stefan know you're here?" Katherine asked with an interested tone.

"I brought you some gifts." Elena ignored her.

I mentally slapped myself. Elena may think what she wants, but she would never be manipulative. Not good at it, anyway. "Note for the future sis, never start with the bribe." I whispered as quietly as I could in her ear.

Apparently it wasn't quietly enough. "You should listen to your sister more. You can't bribe me like that."

"You're not in a place to say anything." I retorted, trying not to think that I was talking back to a half-a-century old vampire. Because _that_ thought was scary. "It doesn't matter. You're going to do exactly what we want."

"And what is it you want?" Katherine's eyes became slits.

"To tell us about Klaus." Elena said.

"Oh… Someone has been busy." Despite her withering state, Katherine smirked. "What makes you think I'll cooperate?"

"I brought you this." Elena extracted an old-looking book from the picnic basket she had been carrying.

It was only then that I realized I didn't know anything about the plan, and I took a mental note to speak to my sister about it later. Yet again she left me out. I was too afraid of the unknown to take such a serious leap of faith. It wasn't some silly school project (even though they were important as well), we were dealing with the supernatural here. Not knowing something… could be fatal. That hero/martyr-complex had to go.

Katherine sneaked a glance at the book and scoffed. It sounded as dry as she looked at the moment. "Really? You think you can bribe me… with a book?"

Elena was most likely anticipating it. That's why she pulled a bottle filled with blood out of the basket next. "I also brought you this."

The atmosphere tensed. It was the first time I saw how vampires reacted to the sight of blood. It was as if Katherine's body was reacting on its own. It slammed into the hidden barrier that kept her inside the tomb, her fangs out and the area around her eyes surrounded by visibly veins. It was a scary sight, and even though I kept my face straight, my heart was racing. That was a predator that could reap you apart in seconds.

"Give it to me!" The vampire commanded, the hunger laced in her words.

"What is it Katherine? You don't look so good."

In that very moment I appreciated Elena for her steady voice. She was clearly used to the sight before her, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. It made me realize exactly how much I missed while I was in New-York. It made me wonder how I would've reacted if one of them died.

Not a pleasant thought, let me tell you that.

"How long is it before your body shuts down?" Meanwhile, Elena continued. "Ten? Twenty years? Must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine."

"Give it to me." Katherine repeated, though with less demeanor, as she slid down the barrier and sat at the corner of the tomb.

"It says here that the family line ended with you." My sister continued, pouring some blood into a small plastic cup. "Obviously a lie." Reaching for a long stick, she slid the cup carefully into her ancestor's reach. Never had I seen someone down a shot as quickly as Katherine had.

"Klaus and I, it's a long story." Katherine began, suddenly much more willing to talk. I poured another shot of blood. "It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria. Or rather was thrown out. My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me."

"How could they, you're so nice and lovely." I muttered sarcastically under my breath. The doppelgangers seemed to ignore me.

"My indiscretions were not tolerated at the time." Katherine smirked weakly. "I had a child out of wedlock. The shame."

"And it was kept secret?" I was quick to realize.

She nodded. "Mhmm. My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to quickly adjust. So I became English." Psychopathic-Vampire-Bitch aside, I had to admire her survival instinct and flexibility. But then again, she had managed to escape the oldest vampire ever for five-hundred years. I shouldn't have been so surprised. "It was there that I caught the eye of a noble man named Klaus. I was taken with him at first, until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me… and then I ran like hell."

"What did Klaus want exactly?" Elena asked after Katherine downed another cup of blood.

"Same thing that he'll want from you. To break the curse."

"By sacrificing a Petrova doppelganger, right?" I chirped in, smug that I finally knew something. Jess was back on track.

"Look who's finally caught up." Katherine rolled her eyes. "He wanted to drain every single drop of my blood."

"Lovely fellow…" I commented. "But what does the Petrova line have to do with Klaus?"

"It's really tedious…" The color was visibly returning to Katherine's face the more she drank out of the cup. "The curse was bound by the sacrifice of Petrova blood. Witches are crafty with their little spells. The doppelgänger was created as a way to be able to undo the spell. Once the doppelgänger reappeared, the curse can be broken."

"So you ran before he killed you?" Elena asked. I glanced at my sister, noting the alarm and unease that coated her face. Not knowing what to do, I settled with putting a reassuring arm around her shoulder.

"Something like that." Katherine looked smug. "I stole the moonstone from him, and then I ran. Klaus's lackeys chased after me, but one of them – Trevor – was in love with me, he help me hide from them. I hid in a cottage, but his companion, Rose," was it the Rose from before? "Was much more reluctant to help me. She wanted to bring me back to Klaus."

"But Rose never ended up taking you back to Klaus, did she?"

"No, but not because of change of hearts. I killed myself."

Well, that escalated quickly. "You killed yourself?!"

Katherine simply shrugged. "Klaus needed a human doppelgänger. As a vampire I was useless to him."

So she had drunk vampire blood before committing suicide. Clever. I honestly wandered why no one had mentioned it as an option before. Which made me think… "That's actually pretty clever, except… it didn't turn out the way you planned, did it?"

"I underestimated his spirit for vengeance. But living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

I had to admit, the bitch had a point.

"Trevor and Rose spent the last five-hundred years running, because of you. Because you used them." Elena concluded, and her voice told me exactly how repulsive she thought it was. I, on the other hand… I was not Elena with her high moral claim. I knew that if I was given the choice of saving myself by sacrificing two people who were practically strangers, I would've probably done that. Just like I knew that I would do anything to protect her from Klaus, no matter how old and powerful he was.

"Trevor just got killed…" Elena continued.

"Honestly, I never thought he would last that long."

"You don't even care you ruined their lives."

"I was looking out for myself, Elena. I will always look out for myself." Katherine took the time to look straight in the eyes of my sister. "If you're smart, you'll do the same."

* * *

The atmosphere in the tomb remained ominous . Katherine had turned her attention towards the book Elena had brought. The living doppelganger herself looked like every bit of information she processed caused her immense pain. My brain, meanwhile, was thinking rapidly.

It was hard to piece a puzzle when I didn't know the bigger picture, nor did I truly know the pieces all that well. The curse part was fairly simple – in order to break it you required the moonstone and the doppelganger. I was intent on not letting it happened, which required to somehow out-smart a thousand-year-old vampire who had planned for this moment for centuries. Luck was clearly not on our side. Which meant we had to prepare extra well for what was about to come.

"You were there the first time Klaus was planning on breaking the curse." I mused, breaking the silence. "Is there anything else you need beside the moonstone and the doppelganger?"

"Oh, smart girl." Katherine smirked, not raising her eyes from the book. "Too bad you only joined us recently. I would've had so much fun with you."

Unintentionally, her words strung a cord. "Yeah, yeah, answer the question."

"Obviously, you also need a witch to break the curse. But regarding the ingredients, in addition to the moonstone and our resident Petrova, you also need a vampire and a werewolf, which in case you didn't know, aren't that easy to come by." I _didn't_ know that.

"So that's why you triggered Tyler's curse." Elena realized. "And that's why you turned Caroline."

"Could've been anyone, really, but I kinda like the poetry of Caroline."

"Fucking bitch… you were going to sacrifice all of our friends." I couldn't believe it.

Elena narrowed her eyes. "That's why you returned to Mystic Falls, isn't it? You wanted to give all of us to Klaus so he would forgive you."

"Five-hundred years on the run… I figured he was willing to strike a deal." The vampire shrugged, almost innocently.

"You were just going to hand us over to be killed?"

"Better you than me."

With that, Katherine stood up, and not bothering to say anything else, returned to the darkness of the tomb she was locked in.

A few moments passed before I spoke again. "You really think she's telling the truth?"

"She has no reason not to." Elena replied, putting everything back inside the picnic basket.

"Okay, so if she's saying the truth, then turning you into a vampire is out of the question."

"It was never in question, Jess."

"Yeah, it was." I replied, folding my arms on my chest and looking at her pointedly. "I would rather have you drinking blood for the rest of eternity than dead."

"But I would be dead!"

"Not in the corpse-kind-of-way you wouldn't. You're delusional if you think I'll let you die."

"Jessica, it's my life."

"Oh, really? Like it was _my_ life when you decided it was better to keep all of this shit from me?" That came out more bitter than I intended. My sister actually flinched. "No Elena. It's not your life. It's _ours_. _We_ are going to have to deal with the fact that you're gone. It was already fucking hard enough when mom and dad died. I will not sit by as you plan to do the same."

"What did she tell you?" We turned around simultaneously, only to find Stefan standing in the entrance. He reached us in a second using his vampire speed.

"Caroline told you." Elena observed icily.

Stefan did not look like a happy camper. "No, she kept your secret, but it didn't take long for me to figure out what was so important that you'd have to keep it from me."

"In my defense, I was against not telling you." I chirped in. Yeah, I was not going to be dragged down to the bottom with Elena. That's what she gets for not listening to the smartest addition of the family.

"I knew that you'd stop me Stefan." Elena defended.

"Listen to me." He gestured towards the place where Katherine stood not long ago. "Whatever she said to you is a lie. Do not listen to her. She's a liar, Elena."

"What if she isn't?" Elena countered. "You didn't hear what she said."

I felt the need to say, "She said she was connected to that Rose girl we saw in the morning. We could ask her if Katherine's story adds up."

Elena nodded in approval, before sending Stefan a desperate look. "I know you say you won't let anything happen to me, but the problem is you'll die while trying to protect me. I can't let that happen."

Stefan was going to reply, if it wasn't for Katherine who had decided to grace us with her appearance once again. "Sorry to interrupt your lover's spat, but I couldn't help it. There's nothing you can do, Stefan. I didn't even tell you dear girlfriend the best part. Klaus, he killed them. My entire family, just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get his vengeance on your friends, on your family, on anyone that you've ever loved."

And wasn't it lovely. Knowing that no matter what you did, Klaus will find a way to get back at you. We seriously were stuck in some deep, deep shit. And there I thought getting into Harvard was the peak of my concerns.

"You're doomed, Elena. There's nothing you can do about it. Unless, of course, you have this." Katherine held up a silvery-looking stone, and it didn't take a genius to realize what it was.

"Oh no, there it is." Stefan announced. "It's the ultimate lie. So like you, Katherine. You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you?"

"I didn't spin anything, Stefan." Katherine sounded like she was talking to a small child who couldn't understand what she was saying. "It's the truth."

Stefan wasn't buying it. "No, let me guess. You want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, psychotic bitch."

Wow, I didn't know Stefan was capable of using such words. I was starting to like him more and more.

"My freedom?" said bitch scoffed. "That's where you're wrong. I don't want my freedom, because when Klaus shows up to kill us all, and he will, I'll be in the tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

And with that, she turned around, disappearing in the darkness once again.

"What a lovely girl." I couldn't help but comment dryly. "Really, a ray of sunshine."

* * *

 **Wow it's been a while. Most of you probably forgot about this fic ^^"**

 **Honestly I did too - life and studies and shit got in the way, like it always does - but I stumbled upon this chapter, which I completed long ago, and I was reminded of everything I was planning for this story. So... here we are. I honestly don't know when I'll be able to publish the next chapter, because everything is still pretty busy, but just so you know, I _am_ working on this.**

 **Thank you for everyone who had favorited and reviewed this story in the time between the third chapter and this. You guys are really awesome 3**

 **Brookeworm3 - thank you, I'm glad you like this story!**

 **Guest - you're absolutely right, Jessica had her mind pretty screwed by Elena, and now she is in a pretty conflicted situation. She loves her sister, but she can't understand what she's done. We can see some of this inner conflict in this chapter, but Jessica is a character that has a hard time talking about her feelings and what bothers her, instead prefering to keep everything in. So rather than confront Elena, everything is going to build up inside until it explodes - and let me tell you, it won't be pretty ;) Also, you haven't offended me in any way. I love to hear your thoughts, and what you wrote is absolutely correct. I really hated in the TV show that Elena was getting a free pass everytime she did something stupid, but with Jess everything will be different. She's going to create small changes here and then and affect the story. So expect interesting outcomes!**

 **BeaAdriana - yes, Jessica is in the loop! Things are going to get interesting now ;)**

 **Lizzy B - thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story! First of all, yes, Tyler is going to get much more involved, since Jessica and he are close. I think his character is really interesting and misunderstood, so it's going to be fun playing with him here. Regarding Klaus, he's going to appear sooner or later. I'm dying to finally include him, but I don't want to rush the build up, so we'll all have to wait patiently for his greatness ^^**

 **Guest - thank you, I'm glad you like it!**


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